Zitting Cisticola - Phil Chantler

Best bird of the week was a Zitting Cisticola discovered at Bockhill on the morning of the 11th. It was singing and showing well for 1.5 hours before flying off north. Formally still a mega, this being only the 8th record for Kent, it is becoming more regular, with four records in the past two years. Will it become a breeding bird in Kent in the near future?

With strong westerly winds on the 6th, sea-watching was good. Dungeness recorded 324 Manx Shearwater, 8 Balearic Shearwater, two Puffin and two Arctic Skua that day. Other watch-points around the Kent coast had to do with less, but small numbers of Balearic and Manx Shearwater were seen, while two late Merganser were at Foreness. Sea-watching was quieter later in the week, but a Common Quail flying in off the sea at Dungeness on he 9th was an unusual surprise. Further Common Quails were heard singing at Elmley and, again, at Bockhill. Other highlights included a Bee-eater heard over Bockhill on the 11th, the Red-footed Falcon still at Worth on the 5th and a Golden Oriole reported from Pegwell on the 7th.

Common Quail - Ray Allen

A count of 31 Avocet chicks at Elmley on the 5th was a welcome suprise as dry conditions earlier in the spring made for challenging conditions for Kent's breeding waders.

With warmer weather on the way, other rare and scarce birds from the continent could show up. Good luck.

Peter Eerdmans

Manx Shearwater - John Carnell

(Thanks to all the observers who posted their records on the KOS Sightings website, BirdGuides, eBird and/or the main Kent Birding WhatsApp groups, Thursday-to-Thursday. Apologies for any omissions. If anyone has any photos they think may be useful for the weekly, please send to me by Wednesday. All records of rarities are still subject to official confirmation by the relevant rarities committees)